Exposed Zipper Pencil Skirt

So I made myself a skirt.  Another bengaline pencil skirt. The pattern was drafted using a stretch pencil skirt that I have in my closet.  I added a contrast waistband, that angles down in the front.   I also added an exposed metal zipper that runs down the front of the skirt.  As you can see, I inserted the zipper upside down.  The zipper pull is quite large, and I really didn't want it jabbing me in the stomach while seated. To avoid having my skirt unzipped by my children I plan on tacking it down along the zipper line.

I like the skirt. What I don't like quite as much is how it fits my body.  My body has changed with  babies, and unfortunately I haven't put in the time or effort that I need to rebuild my atrophied gluts and abs. My rear just seems to be getting longer and flatter, probably in large part because of sewing and blogging.  I am pretty straight by nature, and I need some junk in my trunk to define my waist....hmmm that probably requires exercise (or a glutimax padded bum enhancer that I see advertised on the spanish channel).

Okay, enough about my rear, more about the skirt.  I had to shorten the zipper a bit to fit the skirt length.  I ended up removing some of the metal teeth with my handy dandy pink tool set.  I found this helpful tutorial on removing zipper teeth and stops. One of the things that I love most about this skirt is how much it cost me.  I spent 20 cents on the zipper (it was on super clearance), and about $2.25 for the black bengaline (remnant at 50% off the sale price).  So I have a brand new skirt for less than three dollars.

With the zipper on the bottom, I can easily adjust the length of the slit in my skirt.  Adding the zipper completely eliminated any need to add a back slit, and was so much easier to do.

So are any of you entering skirts in the Crafter Hours Skirt Week?  I've added a couple, I always want to be more active in participating in online sew alongs and challenges, but I don't usually get around to it.  This time I think I'll make more of an effort.

Happy sewing, and thanks for reading!

A Pencil Skirt, and My New Favorite Fabric

As I was sewing up blessing outfits and bow ties for Christmas, I started to wish that I had something new to wear to church.  After all, we all deserve to dress up a bit, don't we?

I have a simple black stretch pencil skirt that I've had for a few years now.  I love the way it fits, an I wear it all too often. I decided that I'd like to recreate the skirt in a different fabric, and make it just a little bit longer.


I was thrilled when I found a similar suiting fabric at Joann's...Bengaline.  Have you heard of Bengaline?  Have you sewn with it?  I hadn't, but I fell in love with it.  It is a suiting fabric that has micro ribs running perpendicular to the selvage edge (at least this particular fabric did).  The small ribs give the fabric a nice vertical stretch.  I needed a horizontal stretch, so I simply positioned my pattern pieces with the stretch running horizontally.

The fabric is great for skirts.  It lays well, only wrinkles slightly, and it doesn't cling like most knits do.  It was also really easy to work with.  I didn't have any issues cutting out the pattern pieces, or sewing it up.  If you are afraid of stretch fabrics, this is a great starting point. The fact that the fabric had so much stretch eliminated any need for a zipper-Wahoo! I believe that I probably could have eliminated the slit in the back as well.

As far as the skirt goes, I added about an inch and a half to the hem of the skirt, and brought up the waistband.  The waistband is long enough that I can wear it up on the waist, or fold it down and wear the skirt lower on my hips.  I have a feeling that this skirt will make a great early maternity skirt (don't worry...I'm not expecting again-just planning ahead).

Just an FYI- I bought 1.25 yards of fabric, but probably only used about a yard.  The fabric is 58" wide, so you have quite a bit of material to work with.  Also, if you want to make your own pencil skirt, but don't have a pattern or existing skirt to use as a guide, check out the tutorial on Cotton and Curls.